We Could Soon Be Holding T-Rex Bones
Grab your own piece of history thanks to the Smithsonian 3D print scheme
That's right, thanks to new cutting edge researching scheme from the Smithsonian in Washington DC, we could all have our hands on a piece of pre-historic history — literally!
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All you will need to be equipped with to grab yourself a piece of history is a 3D printer and a stable internet connection. While most of the world over has the latter of those, 3D printers are still relatively new on the block — but that it won't be too long now until they become ten a penny.
This new possibility comes as an expert team of research and digital brain boxes from the museum start to digitally 'scan in', using the latest 3D technology, a T-Rex skeleton. Once they are finished scanning the prehistoric beast, they will upload the graphics online and from that point it's over to the public to download and print for themselves meaning that they can have their own T-Rex replica in the comfort of their own home. Well, if they have room for the scale model, that is!
This could mean huge things (putting the size of the model aside) for the name of education and research in the future, with the popularity of 3D printing technology gathering pace, with 3D starting to make an appearance in some schools, libraries and even homes globally, it could soon even be the norm to have a giant replica prehistoric fossil in your front room or classroom. This move could mean a more interactive and personal educational, teaching and researching experience that means study of fragile fossils can still be made without the potential danger of damaging the artefacts themselves.
American researchers had already started to make some more interactive moves with two researchers making a website called 'Smithsonian X 3D' dedicated to the upload of fossil graphics and have already successfully made dozens of scans from a cosmic Buddha, to Abraham Lincoln's life mask.
Source: Smithsonian X 3D
And the research and 3D uploads continue as their latest project includes scanning a 26 foot long whale fossil that was recovered from a Chilean excavation.
Palaeontologist, Nick Pyenson PhD, would enlisted the help of the tech experts said "As a researcher, this is compelling because I can literally hold these bones in my bare hands, wherever I am. It allows you to study something from anywhere."
All this is in aid of a larger scale initiative to digitise it's archives and make their data more accessible online.
Hi my name is Julie! Fresh out of university studying journalism, I love to have a good laugh and I believe in always keeping an open mind. In my spare time, if you don't catch me between two pages of a book, you'll most likely find me in front of the computer or the TV! I also like to make cakes if I have the time (and the ingredients!)... or as my friends like to call them, Bundy Buns. Make sure you follow me @JulieAtSMF.
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We Could Soon Be Holding T-Rex Bones
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Reviewed by Anonymous
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Monday, June 16, 2014
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Reviewed by Anonymous
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Monday, June 16, 2014
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Anonymous
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